Monday madness: The best Bundesliga fan protests
This season's Bundesliga Monday games have been met with significant opposition from match-going supporters who feel they are being forgotten in favor of television audiences. DW ranks the most creative fan protests.
1. Tennis balls in Frankfurt
Kickoff ahead of the first Monday night game was delayed when Eintracht Frankfurt ultras left their terrace behind the goal and surrounded the pitch, anti-Monday banners in hand. When the game did get underway, Frankfurt fans refused to sing and blew whistles whenever RB Leipzig were in possession. The second half start was also delayed as fans threw toilet rolls and tennis balls onto the pitch.
2. Boycott in Dortmund
Over 600 active BVB fan groups answered the call to boycott the Monday night game against Augsburg. The Yellow Wall turned grey while swathes of empty seats were visible around the ground. Almost 30,000 fans boycotted in total, and stadium announcer Norbert Dickel told the crowd: "We are also against Monday games and will be raising this when the next TV deal is discussed."
3. Toilet roll in Mainz
Before kickoff, Mainz distributed anti-Monday placards to supporters and also permitted large letters spelling out "against Monday games" to be displayed on the pitch. The start of the second half was then delayed by several minutes when Mainz ultras threw reels of toilet roll into the goalmouth in protest.
4. Garfield in Bremen
The DFL insists that the introduction of five Monday night games was to give the Bundesliga's Europa League participants an extra day's rest. That wasn't the case when Werder Bremen hosted Cologne on Matchday 26, and ultra groups boycotted the game. Behind one goal, a cutout of cartoon character Garfield was paired with a speech bubble containing an alteration of his iconic phrase.
5. Disagreements in Leipzig
Ahead of their game against Bayer Leverkusen, some RB Leipzig fan groups called for an atmosphere boycott but the club publically called on fans to support the team, leading to physical confrontations between fans with differing views inside the stadium. Elsewhere, the attempted protest was largely met with scorn due to the perceived commercial nature of the Red Bull club itself.